Sammie Szmodics

Colchester United

Szmodics is a product of the Colchester United Academy, having progressed through the club's youth ranks since the age of seven. He was a regular starter and scorer for the under-18 side, which included a goal in Colchester's 3–2 FA Youth Cup defeat by Chelsea on 1 December 2012, sweeping in Macauley Bonne's cross.

2013–14 season

For Colchester United's 2013–14 pre-season campaign, Szmodics was drafted in to the first-team for their friendly fixtures. He was included in manager Joe Dunne's squad for a game at AFC Sudbury on 12 July 2013, and scored twice in two first-half minutes to hand Colchester a 2–0 lead in their eventual 5–0 win. Szmodics was then drafted into the first-team squad during the season while the club were suffering an injury crisis. He came on as a substitute for Craig Eastmond to make his professional debut on 28 September as Colchester drew 1–1 with Bristol City at Ashton Gate. While appearing in the first-team, Szmodics continued to play for the under-18s. He helped his side to a FA Youth Cup first round 4–1 win over AFC Wimbledon on 12 November by scoring the opening goal, which also helped to extend their unbeaten run to 13 wins from 13 league and cup games. Szmodics was shortlisted for the Football League Apprentice of the Year award in the League One category in January 2014, facing opposition from Preston North End's Josh Brownhill and Milton Keynes Dons' Brendan Galloway. He finished as runner-up to Galloway…

As well as his country of birth, England, Szmodics was also eligible to represent the Republic of Ireland and Hungary through his Irish County Longford-born grandmother and Hungarian-born grandfather. On 28 May 2021, Szmodics received his first call up to the Republic of Ireland team for the summer friendlies against Andorra and Hungary, following the withdrawal of Callum Robinson and Aaron Connolly from the initial squad through injury. On 2 June, however, Szmodics was ruled out of the squad after he aggravated an existing shoulder problem in training ahead of the Andorra game. In October 2023, he was recalled for two UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying games against Greece and Gibraltar, but withdrew from the squad for personal reasons. On 13 March 2024, Hungary manager Marco Rossi publicly criticised Szmodics for allegedly leaking information to the media about Rossi's contact to attempt to convince him to switch his international allegiance to Hungary ahead of their UEFA Euro 2024 campaign. Szmodics disputed Rossi's claims, stating: "I have never spoken to anyone from that country. I am fully focused on playing for Ireland." Szmodics made his debut for Ireland on 23 March in a 0–0 draw against Belgium at the Aviva Stadium.

Club

As of match played 19 September 2026

International

As of match played 26 March 2026

Ipswich Town

EFL Championship runner-up: 2025–26 Colchester United U18

Football League Youth Alliance South East: 2013–14 Football League Youth Alliance Cup: 2013–14 Individual

Colchester United Young Player of the Year: 2015 EFL Championship Player of the Month: November 2023 EFL Championship Team of the Season: 2023–24 Blackburn Rovers Player of the Year: 2023–24 EFL Championship Golden Boot: 2023–24 PFA Team of the Year: 2023–24 Championship The Athletic Championship Team of the Season: 2023–24